CAT 2017 Registration: Exam in 144 test cities; 14 small towns scrapped – choose carefully

IIM Lucknow has scrapped 14 small towns from the list of CAT 2017 test cities and despite the deletion of these test cities; there are still 144 CAT 2017 exam centres across the country. The CAT 2017 registration process has been opened by IIM Lucknow on August 9. Completion of CAT 2017 registration and application is totally an online process.

Important links for CAT 2017 Registration

• CAT 2017: 43 days online Registration window finally opens; first clarify all key points
• CAT 2017: 12.5% Application fee hike in 2 years; Registration starts August 9 – note the key points
• CAT 2017: 10 Questions on CAT exam & CAT Registration answered by IIM Lucknow; must read

Earlier on Aug 2, CAT Centre 2017 published a list of 157 test cities. However, after publication of informative article on August 3, by MBAUniverse.com CAT 2017: List of 140 test cities out; Noida, Mathura, Purnea, Samba & more small towns included, the link to CAT 2017 exam cities was withdrawn by IIM Lucknow and Prof Neeraj Dwivedi, Convener CAT 2017 informed “Link was brought down as there would be some changes in test cities and will be activated before start of registration.” The link of CAT 2017 exam cities, when restored brought with it 14 fewer exam cities although there are still 144 test cities for the CAT 2017 aspirants to choose from.

Read here about all test centres for CAT 2017

Select 4 most preferred CAT exam cities
The CAT 2017 registration and application form allows the candidates to select 4 most preferred CAT test cities in order of preference from the list of state-wise exam cities provided at the drop down menu in the CAT 2017 application form.  

After completion of CAT 2017 registration on September 20, aspirants will be allotted their preferred CAT 2017 test centre. In a rare case, if the preferred CAT test centre is not available, the nearby test centre will be allotted to the candidate, instead of arbitrarily allotting the CAT exam centre without any logic.    

14 test centres removed in CAT 2017 exam
Following towns have been deleted from the list of CAT 2017 test centres:

Earlier 6 Test cities scrapped
Earlier, the six cities which were the test centres for CAT 2016 were deleted from the list of CAT 2017 test cities published on CAT 2017 website on August 2. Khammam in Telangana, Khanna and Phagwara in Punjab, Cochin in Kerala, Gaya in Bihar, Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh were already removed from the list of test cities for CAT 2017 exam.

1 Test Centre added in new list
IIM Lucknow has taken care to increase one test centre for CAT 2017 exam in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The added CAT test city is Barabanki, again a small town.

CAT exam centres: Number goes up substantially
In 4 years, number of CAT exam cities has gone up substantially and is on continuous rise year after year.

Responding to the MBAUniverse.com query about the need felt to increase the number of CAT exam centres this year , Prof Dwivedi, CAT 2017 convener said “We generally plan for a higher number of test cities/centres to accommodate expected increase in number of candidates.”

This is a truth also as the number of CAT registrations has shot up in past 4 years from 1.95 lakhs in 2013 to 2.32 lakhs in 2016. Besides, since 2015 CAT exam is conducted in a single day, instead of earlier multiple days.  

Many test centres replaced with new ones

It is not that IIM Lucknow has only deleted a few of the existing test cities. In fact many states have found additional test cities which have replaced the old ones. For example, Bhatinda in Punjab, Purnea in Bihar, Waknaghat in Himachal Pradesh, Samba in J&K, Dharwad and Gulbarga in Karnataka, Ernakulam in Kerala, Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra, Dhenkanal in Odisha, Bankura in West Bengal have been added to the list of CAT 2017 test centres.

Mathura, NOIDA continue as CAT 2017 Test Cities
In 2014 and 2015 Noida had remained out of the list of CAT test cities although Greater Noida the suburb of Noida was included as one of the test centres. Candidates had to face a good amount of trouble reaching Greater Noida especially in the morning session as in absence of availability of conveyance and dense fog on the way; it was difficult for them to reach the test venue.

CAT test city: Available nearby
The changes, additions and replacement of many CAT test centres have been brought by IIM Lucknow to facilitate easy accessibility for CAT 2017 aspirants and with a view to reduce their commuting time to arrive at the CAT test centre.

The CAT exam conducting experience of IIMs has revealed that there are some exam centres where not many candidates appear and as such it has not been found feasible to continue them in the list of CAT test cities. On the other hand, there are many small cities and towns which have more CAT aspirants and need a nearby CAT exam centre. Looking at the trends and strengths, CAT centre 2017 has decided to shut a few CAT test centres and replace them with new test cities to help the CAT aspirants.

CAT 2017 exam will be held on Sunday November 26, 2017 in 2 sessions of 3 hours duration each in 144 test cities. It is expected there would be more than 450 testing venues for CAT 2017 exam.

The CAT 2017 online Registration process has opened on August 9 with a 43 days application window and will close on September 20, 2017 at 5 PM.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2017

See Also:

• CAT 2017: Exam on November 26; Registration begins Aug 9; key changes you must know
• CAT 2017: ‘Exam designed to suit diverse background candidates’; CAT exam convener, Prof Dwivedi
• IIM Ahmedabad Admission 2018: CAT 2017 cut offs announced; needs 70 sectional percentile
• CAT 2017 Notification release on July 30 by IIM Lucknow; 5 do’s on this Sunday